Dental floss applicator



April 1949- A. J. PASTL. I

v DENTAL FLOSS APPLICATOR Filed Oct. 4, 1946 INVENTOR. a CZZfredJPasiL,

as? Z w Patented Apr. 12, 1949 UNITED- S-TATES PATENT OFFICE mementos Alfirea FastLf-ihicttgd; Ill. Application Oc'tolier 4, 19 1's; summation-1'67 v 4 Claims: 1.

This invention pertains to a tooth-cleaning'liin plement of the type herein refered to asla dental floss applicator, comprising a forked holder for a strandodental fioss,.which is. held taut across the gap between the bifurcations of the impl'e ment, the forked part of the implement being operable in" the mouth for working the strand of dental floss between and against opposing surfaces of adjacent teeth.

I-he object of the invention is to provide an. im

proved implement of this type, having; in. view efficiency and convenience in use, as well" as siniplicity and practicability.

The invention will be des'cribedwith reference to the accompanying. drawings; whereiri there is shown for illustration a device of one practicable construction embodying the invention.

In said drawings:

Fig. 1' is a front elevation of the illustrative device, with certain: fastening nuts thereof? shown removed.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the illustrative device, omittirig the nut which goes off the screw H appearing in this view;

Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6 are cross sections taken respectively on the lines 3-4; 4-4;. 55 and 6'-6 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged-partial front elevation of the illustrative device shown holding taut" a strand of dental H0585 strung thereon; an intermediate part of the device being broken away" and the parts shown being' brought close together for compactness of illustration.

Fig. 3 is a views'im'ilar to Fig. fishowmg a inedification.

The body of the illustrative device may he a one-piece molded plastic article; and willbe as"- sumed' to be such in. the following description, though it may be of non-corrosive metal or othe'r suitable material.

The body'comp'rises a handle I from whichex tends a shank 2 formed With aforked or bi furcated head, the bifurcations or armsi' of which are formed in their extremities with eyes" 4 through which to thread the' stiand' 5 of dental floss to be held by the device.

The handle I is recessed as at 6 to contaiiil a spool of dental floss 'l-whichca'n be inserted end wise into the handle when its rear end cap 8 is removed. In Fig. 6 thehandleis shown as of round cross-section but formed with exterior longitudinal ribs 9 for a better grip-bythe-hand.

From the spool I the strand of dental floss- 5 may be drawn through the outlet passage H! extending from the fore end of the recess 6 to one side of the body of the device;

Adjacent to the-spool-containin'g portion ofthe handle,- the bodyis'provided a pair of screwthreaded studs- I l and 1-2, which are fixes toa'nd project from opposite sides of the body. These ape show-ti as: headed screws having. their heads [3- embeddedin the plasticbody wit'h the under sides or the heads exposed- Extending through screw [l transversely thereof is. a hole L lith-roughwhich to thread the strand of dental floss. The screw fZ hasasimil-ar hole [5 foi 'a'siinilac purpose. These holes 4 and I 5 are immediately adjacent to the screw-heads [3. Thumb nuts [6 and IT engaging the respective screws are adapted to be screwed thereon against the'headsl3 forclamp-ingthe strand of dental floss between saidnuts and heads.

'I- here are; formedinthe front of the body. of the device-two longitudinallv arranged series of grooves. those of T one: series being designated by the'numeral l 8 andthose-of the other series being designated by the numeral w The grooves of each series arearranged endtoend and: in communication with one another through eyes 20 formed by apertured end walls of adjacent grooves. The efiect is that of continuousgrooves having eyes fixed there-in at suitable intervals. Thetwo-series ofgrooves [8 and t9 extend along the shank-2 from points adjacent the screws H and I2 to theeyes 4- in the terminalportions of the arms of bifurcations 3 of the forked head of d meo.

Kfter the strand 5' hasbeen threaded through the hole' M in the screw It, it is drawnth-rough the series of g-rooves lfi and eyes 2 ll therein to the eyed inone of=the-biturcations 3 andaorossthe there between and througlr the eye the other biiumansion and; then-back through the seji ies otgrooves; I 9 andeyes therein; to the: screw l2 and threaded through the holel5inthelatter. Whilethe strand is slack;- it: is held in the grooves by theey-es 20; andwhen it is drawn taut it lies in the; bottoms of the grooves by virtue ofthe curvature of the arms orbituroations 3- and the curvature indicatedm 2- ofthose grooves oi -the-series It andlfl wh-ichareadjacent to the screws ll. and I2.

In using the device. the strand 0t dental floss is threaded thereon ilI -l-jhQ- manner above deand illustrated in Fig.- '7,- and' is secured at H! by screwing the nut l-6- against the head of the screw He and is then draw-n taut and sec'ured at I 5 by screwing the nut H- against-the head ofthescrew li -whereuponthe deviceis roadie for use as ateoth-cleaning, implement.

the-implement has beed used for tooth cleaning it: be readily conditioned for an ensuing) operation by loosening the nuts; draw ingithe 'usedl portion o-f the strand of dental floss past the screw l2, then tightening the nut %6, drawing; the strand taut again and securing it is disposed a small knife blade 22, so that, after tightening the nut H, the previously used portion of the strand can be cut off by catching the strand in the slit 2I and then giving a slight pull on the free end of the strand.

One of the advantages of the illustrative device is the expedition with which it can be made ready for use and successively reconditioned for subsequent uses with accompanying severage of the previously used portions of the dental floss. Since the strand is threaded through the holes I 4 and I5, it can be easily and quickly secured at these points by merely screwing up and tightening the nuts I6 and I1, without necessity of havingto finger the strand to position it under the nuts, and without liability of displacement of the strand from position to be clamped. The strand is effectually secured against slippage by being clamped at both sides of the screws II and I2. Drawing the strand through the holes I4 and I5, which may be somewhat out of line with the course of the strand, is also of advantage for effecting a frictional engagement of the screws with the strand. As the strand when clamped by the nut I6 is not liable to slip, it is only necessary to draw it taut by a single steady pull and to secure it by the nut I! in order to make it ready for an operative use, thus avoiding the wear on the fingers that would be incident to having to readjust fastenings and to pull a succession of times on the free end of the strand to make ready for use.

The strand will slip easily through the grooves I8 and I9 and interposed eyes 20, so that such a hard pull on the strand as to be unduly wearing on the fingers is not necessary. The course of the strand follows the longitudinal contour lines of the shank 2 and arms or bifurcations 3, and there are no objectionable stretches of the strand between the eyes 4 and shank or outside of the contour of the body of the device. The body is smooth surfaced, and is free from protuberances other than the screws II and I2 and nuts thereon, which are remote from the forked head or part of the device which is to be operated in the mouth. When the strand is slack, it is nevertheless retained in the grooves, and when taut it lies in the bottoms of the grooves, so that it will not be felt either in the mouth or by the hand operating the device.

As will be apparent, the device is highly practical, efficient and convenient, simple in construction and for use, and also susceptible of economical manufacture.

Referring to Fig. 5, the two screws II and I2 could be rigidly connected by an embedded stem, said screws and stem being molded in one piece. Instead of the two separate screws II and I2, there might be substituted a stem embedded in the plastic body and having threaded end portions projecting from opposite sides thereof, as shown by Fig. 8 wherein such stem is designated by the numeral 23, and the nuts I6 and I1 engaging such threaded end portions could clamp the strand of dental floss against metal washers 24 fitted on such stem and embedded in said plastic body. The illustrative device may be otherwise variously modified in details within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An implement of the class described comprising a handle having extending therefrom a shank formed with a forked or bifurcated head and adapted for holding a strand of dental floss stretched across the gap between the bifurcations of said head, said handle having opposite flat metallic surfaces and a pair of screw-threaded studs fixed to and projecting from opposite sides of the handle and surrounded by said surfaces, said studs having holes through which to thread said strand extending transversely through said studs immediately adjacent to said surfaces, and nuts engageable with said studs and cooperable with said surfaces for clamping said strand at both sides of said studs.

2. An implement of the class described comprising a handle having extending therefrom a shank formed with a forked or bifurcated head and adapted for holding a strand of dental floss stretched across the gap between the bifurcations of said head, and means for securing the strand at opposite sides of the handle, said forked shank havin two longitudinally disposed series of grooves and interposed eyes through which to guide the strand between the respective securing means and the ends of the respective bifurcations, the grooves of each series being arranged end to end out of line with one another and said eyes being between adjacent ends of the grooves, there being also eyes through which to thread the strand in the ends of said bifurcations.

3. In an implement of the class described comprising amolded plastic body forming a shank with a bifurcated head and adapted for holding a strand of dental floss stretched across the gap between the bifurcations of said head, means remote from said head for securing said strand at opposite sides of said body comprising fixed oppositely projecting screws having heads embedded in said body with their under sides exposed, said screws having holes through which to thread said strand extending transversely through said screws immediately adjacent to said heads, and nuts engageable with said screws and cooperable with said heads for clamping said strand at both sides of said screws.

4. In an implement of the class described comprising a molded plastic body forming a shank with a bifurcated head and adapted for holding a strand of dental floss stretched across the gap between the bifurcations of said head, means remote from said head for securing said strand at opposite sides of said body, comprising a stem embedded in and extending through said body transversely thereof and having threaded end portions projecting from opposite sides of said body, washers fitted on said stem and embedded in said body with their outer faces exposed, said threaded end portions having holes through which to thread said strand extending transversely through said threaded end portions immediately adjacent to the outer faces of said washers, and nuts engageable with said threaded end portions and cooperable with said washers for clamping said strand at both sides of the respective projecting portions of the screw.

ALFRED J. PASTL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Grieco May 17, 1938 

